A new update to Android Marshmallow 6.0 has begun rolling out for the two-year-old ASUS Padfone S. The hybrid device launched back in July of 2014 with KitKat 4.4.2 and offered a unique compromise between the portability of a phone and the screen real estate of a tablet — without resorting to the predictable phablet form factor.

Marshmallow may already be outdated considering this summer's release of Nougat, but the software upgrade should include many of the niceties we've come to enjoy on Android, including Doze mode and run-time app permissions. Installing the OTA file will also remove up to 22 pre-loaded apps (a.k.a.

The ASUS Padfone form factors have always been incredibly interesting. It's a real shame that by the time they were picked up by a US carrier, the over-the-top modular form factor was toned down to something with a lower price tag and more mass appeal. Even so, if you'd like to check out this unique phone-tablet hardware, there's no better time than the present. An eBay vendor has a refurbished version of the Padfone X mini, complete with its 7-inch tablet dock, on sale for just $99.99.

The X mini is a low-end phone that can also double as a low-end tablet.

Some Americans waited literally years for the weird and wonderful PadFone series to show up on a local carrier... and were finally unsurprised to see AT&T be the only one to bite. (Seriously, between all that Amazon and HTC hardware, AT&T seems like the only American carrier willing to take a little risk.) Now AT&T and ASUS are teaming up again for the slightly smaller version of the phone-tablet docking concept, the PadFone X Mini.

If you don't remember this particular iteration of the PadFone (and we don't blame you, there have been a few), it's the one with a vertically-oriented 7" tablet "dock" instead of the more conventional full-sized tablet form factor.

Android L is on its way, but people still want KitKat. It's true. If I were sitting around with a device still running, say, Android 4.1, I'd want an update to something newer, and I'm sure you would (or do) too. Well, Asus Padfone Infinity and Fonepad Note 6 owners now have their chance to take a bite out of a sweeter, more recent version of Android. Asus has announced the immediate availability of fresh firmware for both devices.

In addition to KitKat's changes, twenty apps on the Padfone Infinity will be removed or renamed following the update.

What's new for the Padfone Infinity:

Please note that Android 4.4 KitKat does not support some pre-installed apps.

The last time that the Padfone 2 got a major version update was way back in December 2012, for Jelly Bean 4.1. Yeah, you read that right. Today ASUS is updating its second phone-tablet-combo-thingy all the way to KitKat, a move that will surely please at least some of the users who haven't upgraded to one of the newer models. Are you ready for some sketchy ASUS English translations? Of course you are.

It's raining LTE-equipped tablets over at AT&T this fine evening, and you can order yourself up one right now. You've got your choice of a standard tablet, one with a stylus, and one with a whole phone in it. We truly live in the future.

The wait is nearly over for anyone who kind of wants a tablet, but doesn't want to commit to having two whole devices. The Asus PadFone X has been "coming soon" for months now, but AT&T is finally setting a date – you can get your own phone/tablet hybrid on June 6th for $199, if you go for the traditional contract.

Have you ever happened upon an attractive, dog-having single person in your local park and attempted to strike up a conversation about the fact that you, too, have a Canis domesticus and a picture of said animal that you would like to show this attractive dog-having person, only to be rejected because your phone's small display does not adequately represent your canine companion's intense cuteness? Good news! AT&T will soon be stocking the Asus PadFone X, a Certified Dog Photo Presenting Device (CDPPD) that will ensure the only reason you'll ever be shot down is for any other reason aside from not having a big enough screen to show someone a picture of your dog on.

If you know anything about ASUS, it's probably that they love to put things in other things. I'm pretty sure they pioneered putting phones inside of tablets, turning tablets into laptops, and other forms of turducken technology. In true ASUS form, the company announced not one, not two, but three new turduckentech devices yesterday: the PadFone Mini, PadFone X, and Transformer Book Duet.

As the smallest, most agile, and most affordable of the three, the PadFone Mini is ASUS' entry-level PadFone device. It's a four inch, 480x800 phone that docks into a seven inch, 1280x800 tablet. It's powered by an Intel Z2560 dual-core Atom processor, packs 1GB of RAM, shares 8GB of internal storage (it also has an SD card slot), and runs Android 4.3.

Asus has been making new versions of the Padfone every few months, but none of them have ever officially come to American shores. Well, that changes with the new Padfone X. This device will be available on AT&T in the not too distant future.

The Padfone X will have a 5-inch 1080p screen when in phone mode, but like past devices in its lineage, can be docked into a larger tablet shell. The other Padfones have used 10.1-inch tablet docks, but this one is a little smaller at 9-inches. Asus says the tablet screen is "full HD," so that might only mean 1080p just like the phone.